Okay, here's the deal. Some of my closest friends are coming to Chicago tonight for our annual two-day St. Patrick's Day mega-celebration. (Thank Zeus for 5-Hour Energy.) Plus, Resident Evil 5 just came out today, so I'm not going to have a lot of (read that: "any") time for the NBA this weekend. (As Stephon Marbury might put it, I'm "caught up in life.") So, here's the deal: I want to publish Basketbawful's first-ever 100 percent fan submission Worst of the Weekend.

That's right, Monday's Worst of the Weekend post will be written by you, dear readers. Here's how you can take part in this historic event: Pick one or two (or more if you're plum loco) of your favorite teams, summarize their various worsties, and then submit them to me via comment (on this post) or e-mail (to basketbawful@yahoo.com). Make sure that you specify the day (Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and the name/alias you want to go by (along with any Web site links), and please try to adhere to the basic rules of grammar, spelling and human decency (although I'm more concerned about the grammar and spelling parts). Bonus points will be awarded for subtle (or not-so-subtle) video game, professional wrestling and/or zombie references.

Now, on to Worst of the Night...

Update! Donté Greene: Via Ball Don't lie: After Green, a rookie on the Sacramento Kings, had his car filled with popcorns, he went for revenge by, as Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee put it, "dousing the outside of [Bobby] Jackson's white Mercedes with a mixture of dog food, soy sauce and condiments that sent a stench emanating from the car and sent Jackson into a locker room rant not likely to go unresolved."

Will this end well? Not even remotely.

The San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs aren't offensive juggernauts -- they currently rank 11th in offensive efficiency -- but they regularly beat opponents with the following championship-proven formula: Defense + Ball Control + Rebounding + Clutch Execution. However, last night they couldn't defend (52 percent field goal percentage against), couldn't hang onto the ball (10 first-half turnovers), couldn't control the boards (outrebounded 42-33 overall and 11-3 on the offensive glass), and there were out-executed down the stretch.

Mostly because of those first-half turnovers I mentioned, the Spurs fell face-first into an 18-point first-quarter hole they couldn't get out of. Said Tony Parker: "We couldn't get anything done offensively, and defensively they made every shot. After that we were in a big hole, and against the Lakers it's tough to come back."

San Antonio fans: "As Bryant left the court, a few dozen fans chanted 'M-V-P! M-V-P!' in what is usually hostile territory for the Lakers." HOME COURT FAIL.

That damn "can't get up off the bench" rule: From the game notes: "Coach Phil Jackson said if Odom feels any guilt for getting suspended for leaving the bench against Portland, he shouldn't. 'Those instincts are just sometimes stronger than rationale,' Jackson said. 'It's just a cockamamie rule. It's a rule has some sense in it, but doesn't stand up all the time. It just doesn't.'" Somewhere every member of the 2007 Phoenix Suns are nodding in agreement. Speaking of the Suns...

The Phoenix Suns: The Suns have now lost six games in a row. Not only is that their longest skid mark of the season, it's their longest fail streak in the last SIX seasons. Mind you, they were at home and shot nearly 55 percent from the field...but still lost anyway. It always stuns me when a team shoots that well and loses. But that's what these Suns do. Seriously, check this out: They shot nearly 56 percent when they lost in Miami and 55 percent in Tuesday's home loss to the Mavericks.

But, as always, it was their defenselessness that killed them, and you have to think that somewhere Terry Porter is feeling validated. Sasha Pavlovic scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a trio of triples. And while we're on that subject, the Cavs tied a franchise record by nailing 17 three (in 33 attempts). Mind you, they went 3-for-20 from downtown against the Clippers a couple nights ago.

The Suns are now a mere three games above .500 (34-31) and six full games behind the Mavericks for the last playoff spot in the West...and their playoff odds are looking increasingly grim.

Jason Richardson: With his team down only two points (97-95) just under nine minutes left in the game, Richardson was sprinting downcourt for what should have been a breakaway layup or an easy flush...but for some reason he attempted 360-degree spin dunk that was stuffed from behind (more on that below) by King Crab himself.

The Crabs grabbed the rebound and shortly thereafter Sasha Pavlovic hit a dagger three to put Cleveland up 100-95. As if that wasn't damaging enough, Richardson objected so strenuously that he was fouled on the play that he got T'd up. Mo Williams happily knocked down the free throw to make it 101-95. So, instead of tying it up, Richardson basically put his team down by 6 points. That was a huge swing and pretty much decided the game.

Said Suns coach Alvin Gentry: "Against a quality team like that, 51 wins they have, you can't afford to make mistakes like that."

LeBron James: Regarding King Crab's block, J-Rich said: "Clearly a foul, I don't care how you look at it. It's still a foul and that's bad and that a guys going up like that, especially trying to do something to get the fans going, to get hammered like that and there's no call at all, that's terrible." And you know what? He's right -- 'Bron fouled him:

So not only did he commit and uncalled foul that swung the game, LeBron made from-behind contact with an airborne player, ala Trevor Ariza, which as we've all learned is the most dangerous, reckless thing that a player can do to another player. So...where's the outrage? Where are the calls for LeBron's suspension? Anyone...? Anyone...? Bueller...?

Nope. There was no anti-LeBron indignation (outside of the Suns locker room, anyway), but there was plenty of praise. The AP game recap said: "Foul or not, it was a remarkable athletic play." And the TNT broadcasters, well, I'll let an anonymous commenter tell the tale: "I can't believe what I'm hearing...wait, yes I can. The announcers (I think it was Reggie Miller) essentially just complemented LeBron for fouling J-Rich. It was something along the lines of "LeBron didn't give up on the play and the refs awarded him by not blowing the whistle." Wow. What's even better is the foul was almost like the infamous Ariza-Rudy foul, only LeBron caught Richardson on the arm. I'm not even a Suns fan. In fact, as a Lakers fan, I kinda hate the Suns, but that's just ridiculous. I wonder what would have happened if Richardson had fallen to the ground (pretty sure the answer is "not a Flagrant 2 call)."

I guess it's only "dirty" or "reckless" when a non-superstar does it, right? You think I'm kidding. Let's watch what Dwyane Wade did to Grant Hill a couple weeks ago (thanks to DKH for the link):

Taking down an airborne player from behind -- and a player with a history of extreme fragility, no less -- is dangerous, right? Funny, but I don't remember a media storm directed Wade's way after the game. Grant Hill is made out of glass, remember, so Pookie could have killed him.

Look, I understand that opinions are going to differ, and that's fine. But all I ask from the people who have been going after Ariza -- and I'm talking about the pros and the experts as well as the fans -- is a little consistency. If you're going to blast a scrappy, hustling role player, then go after everybody who does the same thing.

Cavs-Suns: With both Darnell "Lacktion" Jackson and Tarence Kinsey ordered to stay in their shells tonight, JJ Hickson was called in a pinch to be the evening's human victory cigar. Hickson's own skills of solitude were rewarded with a 1.95 trillion!

On the other hand, Phoenix's Jared Dudley did right for lacktion followers everywhere with a brick-from-downtown +1 suck differential in 7:04.

Jim Cramer: The "Mad Money" host got pwned by John Stewart last night. Here's one part of Cramer's on-the-air emasculation.

The moral of this story: Don't trust CNBC.

Value Village: A couch they sold to a woman, one Vickie Mendenhall, had what we call in the software industry "an undocumented feature." The UF was...a live cat. According to the story: "Mendenhall contacted Value Village, where she bought the couch, but the store had no information on who donated it." Okay, so maybe this WotN should have been aimed at the mysterious donator. Whoever you are, there are easier ways to get rid of unwanted pets. They involve burlap sacks and nearby bodies of water. Or donate them to the government, where they will be implanted with bionics and used to fight crime.

Candadian jails:True story: "Six high-risk prisoners escaped a Canadian jail last summer after spending four months chipping a path to freedom with nail clippers and other makeshift tools, according to a government report released on Thursday. ... While some inmates played cards at a carefully positioned table to block the guards' view, others chipped away at the wall, finally breaking through with a steel shower rod. They then used braided blankets and bed sheets to scale a wall of the compound and escape. 'Idle hands are the Devil's tools,' said the Saskatchewan government report, referring to the fact that prisoners at the Regina Correctional Centre had little to do in the unit, which was built in 1964 and housed prisoners awaiting court dates. 'They tend to gravitate towards doing whatever they can get away with.'" You mean like ESCAPING FROM PRISON?!

But here's the money shot: "The report said at least 87 prison workers had supervised the six prisoners' unit without detecting the escape preparations. Some guards had suspected something was being planned, but they did not interview the prisoners." If all it takes for high-risk inmates to escape a Canadian prison is some nail clippers and a shower rod, they could probably take over the country with some garden tools and a Rainbow Brite doll.

Kobe Bryant: From Basketbawful reader Rich M.: "For your next Daily Kobe, may I suggest to quote NBA.com's Rob Peterson on his Daily R2MVP Blog? 'On Wednesday, Kobe cured his boredom by stealing Ron Artest's lunch money. Then Kobe handed Artest his lunch. And then Kobe knocked the tray out of Artest's hands. He's a mean one, that Kobe, on the court.' Maybe he's been reading your blog for inspiration?" The Basketbawful movement continues to to move along, like a creeping rash...

Yeah, it was a foul but the refs shouldn't have called LeBron for a foul on general principle. Jason Richardson idiotically (and that's really a word that's too light for what J-Rich did) attempted a 360 dunk in the midst of a 2 point game and LeBron James hustled down the court and made him pay for it. This is a Leon Lett moment. Only, it's worse because it cost the Suns the game.

If J-Rich goes up for the easy jam instead of trying to show-off, he either slams it home before LBJ gets there (or even a possible three point play if Lebron fouls him) or the foul gets called. The refs made the right decision even if it was the wrong call.

I was watching that block and I was absolutely stunned by it. But what hit me after was, "There was no call on that?" Thinking about it, it was really J-rich's fault. You're not really making things easy for the refs to see if there was contact or not when you're doing a 360, and when it's LeBron coming in to block your ass.

Speaking of blocks too, in the first quarter (or second?)Lebron demolished Barbosa's layup from behind when it was probably higher than the white box on the backboard. Incredible.

DocZeus - "The refs made the right decision even if it was the wrong call."

Wait, what? You're really in favor of selective refereeing like that? Whether Jason Richardson was an idiot for attempting that move at that point in the game (he was) should not factor in to whether the refs call a foul or not. A foul is a foul is a foul, it shouldn't matter who the foul is on or what the game situation is when it occurs or any of that nonsense. If a guy commits a foul, he should get whistled for it. While one could (correctly) argue that Richardson's stupidity cost his team the game (as Bawful said, instead of it being a tie game, the Suns were down 6); one could also argue it was poor officiating that cost Phoenix the win. If they'd made the correct call and Richardson had hit the ensuing free throws it would have been a tie game, instead Phoenix ended up down 6. Unless you're a proponent of having the officials decide the outcomes of games, I don't see how you could be in favor of them swallowing their whistles on that play.

Again, kudos to Mr. Bawful for further pointing out how silly all the whining from the Pacific Northwest is over the whole Rudy-Ariza thing. Blocks from behind are incredibly routine and are not some inherently dangerous play that the league needs to crack down on.

Kevin -Wouldn't it be infinitely more likely that if a 360 dunk gets blocked that there's contact since the forearms and hands are constantly moving to shield the ball from a different angle? This was simply a case of referees in awe of Lebron and forgetting that he too is capable of fouling.

He made a spectacularly retarded play and should not be bailed out for it. There is no place in the game for showboating in the middle of a tight game when you are on a losing streak and you are playing against one of the best teams in the league. Stupidity should not be rewarded. There's nobody to blame but himself.

And as for comparing, Lebron's foul to Ariza's. Please. Ariza took an out of control swipe at the ball that ended up swatting Rudy's head and it ended up seriously injuring Fernandez. I don't how people are remotely justifying that. He got injured on the play. That's reckless. I mean did you see how Fernandez landed?!?! It looked like a car wreck! Lebron just punked somebody that was trying to show the other team up while he was making a play at the ball that happened to make contact with his hands.

"Wouldn't it be infinitely more likely that if a 360 dunk gets blocked that there's contact since the forearms and hands are constantly moving to shield the ball from a different angle? This was simply a case of referees in awe of Lebron and forgetting that he too is capable of fouling."

No because you slow your momentum down spinning around to perform a dunk like that which gave Lebron the extra split second to block the shot.

Will you people quit whining about poor old Glass Rudy already? The guy got bruised, that's it. Just because he's such a pansy that he needed to be carried off on a stretcher with a neck brace on for getting bruised doesn't mean that Ariza did anything more than deliver a hard foul. Ariza wasn't being "reckless" or "dangerous", he was trying to block the ball from behind and ended up fouling the guy. If it was dangerous to foul a guy who was running as fast as Rudy was, then I submit that it was just as dangerous for LeBron to foul a guy while he's spinning in the air. Both are technically "dangerous" but this is the NBA. If you don't want to risk a hard landing then don't go up for a dunk. And if you're so frail that getting bruised will cause you to have to stay in the hospital overnight, maybe you shouldn't be playing in the league at all.

DocZeus, your other point is just as absurd. It's not a question of bailing out a guy for showboating at that point in the game, it's about calling a foul when a foul was committed. That's why the refs are there. That's the only reason the refs are there. Jason Richardson was stupid for attempting that at that point, but he was still fouled. For the refs that's all they should be concerned with. As a fan of the NBA that's all I want the refs to be concerned with: whether a foul was committed or not. I definitely don't want the refs trying to decide whether it's the right point in a game to be calling fouls or not.

So apparently referees should take aesthetic considerations into account when calling fouls. "I didn't like the form on that three-pointer at all! Who cares if he was fouled, that was damn ugly. No call!"

There might have been some "anti-LeBron indignation" from me regarding that block if I could have found a good link at the time of my post. But I couldn't find anything that clearly showed a foul, plus J-Rich made an ass of himself trying to do the 360 (Note: I didn't see the game, so I only had Al McCoy's indignation to judge this play by until I could find a replay after the game. I didn't even know a 360 was attempted).

The inclusion of the Wade link was meant to call him out has reckless as well.

Regarding LeBron's blocks vs. Ariza's: Life just isn't fair for Ariza. LeBron is a better athlete, and he's able to get higher relative to the man he's chasing down, so he's not clubbing them across the back of the head. So while I think LeBron's block plays sometimes are reckless, it's rare for him to approach the "unnecessary [and excessive] contact" that makes a foul a flagrant-1 [or flagrant-2]. (See definition at http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_b.html?nav=ArticleList)

=========

Continuing a conversation with AnacondaHL:

It may be true that the Cavs have nothing like the Tim Duncan face. However, I wasn't watching the game; I was listening on the radio. Thus, I was judging by the Al McCoy Index, which has to do with how irate a team can make Al McCoy only by using the referees, rather than the Tim Duncan Face Index, which is a measurement of the players themselves.

(Note: I love Al McCoy. I was rooting for the Cavs this game (Cavs and Suns are the teams I root for). Even still, I listened to the Suns radio feed off ESPN, because I love his homerism. And even though I was rooting for the Cavs, he still had me pissed at the refs.)

Anyway, if the Al McCoy Index is normalized to 100 = Spurs, the Cavs got him up to about an 80 last night. I think that's above Laker territory and certainly above the rest of the league.

=======

Additionally, I agree with Wild Yams on what he said about fouls, officials, and the outcomes of games. I'll close with a Bill Simmons quote in which he might go farther than me in annoyance with the refs:

"Baron scores on a fast-break layup created by Kaman's shoving down Anderson Varejao right in front of referee Haywoode Workman. No call. You see 15-20 horrendous calls or no-calls in NBA games these days. Minimum. It's unclear whether the league cares."

I don't know where people got it into their head that Ariza didn't make a play on the ball, but the guy actually did swat the ball out of Rudy's hands, so clearly he was making a play on the ball. He didn't even hit Rudy that hard, it's just that Rudy was running so fast and that he'd jumped off of one foot at full speed, so the amount that Ariza did hit him threw him off balance so he landed awkwardly; but Ariza was clearly trying to block the shot. He did foul him, yes absolutely, and due to the contact with his head it should have been a flagrant 1, but that's it. LeBron and Wade didn't hit Richardson or Hill in the heads so those shouldn't have been flagrant fouls, but they were definitely still fouls.

The only shocking thing about the Ariza play was finding out that apparently Rudy Fernandez is more brittle than Grant Hill.

There are plenty of times when not following the letter of the law is the right call. For example, Game 4 of the 2007 Spurs/Sun series springs IMMEDIATELY to mind. This is one of those occasions.

I don't how you can look at that Ariza play and think to yourself Rudy's a pansy for getting hurt on that play. He got clubbed on the head from a guy whose like 6'7 running at full speed while he's jumping into the air at which, he lost complete control of his body, spun almost completely around like a top, and landed directly onto his hip. Rudy's lucky he didn't land on his next. Put at this way if this happens to somebody who isn't an athlete in peak condition something REALLY seriously could have happened.

James should be called for excessive celebration based on that picture at the top of the post. You can't breakdance after a made bucket! You KNOW that BABY!! WHOOOOO!

PHX is so fucked, and it just goes to show that good players don't a good team make. They have NO chemistry right now; and it shows. I doubt those guys could stand to be around eachother even if they were in a Vegas strip club in the champagne room and Bob Marley was hanging out in the booth with them. The greatest teams have always had good chemistry (like SA or HOU in 94-95) or an iron-fist leader(s) that control the team (like 90's CHI and 00's LAL).

The Suns have neither, and while they are good individually, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, and that's what you call, uh, not-synergy, or something. Anyway, it's sad. I hope Steve Nash can championship-piggyback somewhere before he retires.

And dude, AnacondaHL- you can't "call" FOUR GAMES, man. That's not fair! (/Luke Skywalker whiny voice) You are not even a "reader" anymore, more like a regular contributor, like Steven Colbert to Matt's John Stewart.

Yams, I think at this point you're the only who's outraged about The Incident. You're the one that keeps bringing it up and that inspires Blazers fans to keep whining. The Lakers weathered the loss of Odom for a game and Ariza didn't miss any time at all, so I don't even know why you still care about this.

Instead of whining about how LeBron's plays and The Incident are different, I would like to just point out what I wrote the day after The Incident happened.

"I think getting bonked on the head doesn't require flopping to sell the call. Well, that previous statement might not hold true if Kobe, Wade, or LeBron smack you on the head, that might be judged a block or a steal."

I think we all knew that statement was true and Wade and LeBron have demonstrated it for us quite nicely. I would think that as a fan of a team with Kobe on it you wouldn't be so shocked and surprised that superstars get different treatment then other players. Kobe, LeBron and Wade are fantastic athletes, but it terms of playing defense they're not that far ahead of other athletes in the league. They become great defenders because they get away with more than anyone else. I just pray that I never found out what kind of contact from a superstar would warrant a flagrant 2. The resulting blood smears and brain residue sprayed on the court would not be easily forgotten.

Buck Grubnar -- "...barely any contact" is still contact on a shot attempt, ergo a foul.

DocZeus -- I believe Wild Yams covered this for me.

Anonymous #1 -- Uh, thanks. Believe it or not, I do have a couple of books/book ideas in the works. I'm just a little short on time.

phelan -- Nice pic! [looks at AnacondaHL hopefully...]

DNP-CD -- God, I love the Onion. Short of becoming a bigtime sports writer, I'd love to write for them.

AnacondaHL -- Man, I'm glad you're covering those PHX games instead of me. That's all I have to say about that right now.

Kevin -- Yeah, 'Bron's block on Leandro was pretty amazing. So much so that I didn't even give Barbosa a WotN for the ego-ectomy. I mean, it was that good.

Wild Yams -- "Blocks from behind are incredibly routine and are not some inherently dangerous play that the league needs to crack down on." Yeah, exactly. That's one of the most stunning aspects of Blockfrombehindgate. I mean, we've all seen a jillion occurences of that play, but this particular one (Ariza-Rudy) got put under the microscope and was indicted like it was one of a kind...mostly 'cause Rudy got so shaken up.

Anonymous #2 -- You make a good point.

chris -- Hm. That makes him sound like a Mega Man villain. Crab Man!

DocZeus -- Just as I can't condone what J-Rich did, I can't condone fouls that don't get called, especially game-swingers like that one.

Anonymous #3 -- Refs might be reluctant to call body contact on blocks, but they're supposed to, and that's all that matters.

Jerry Vinokurov -- Sadly, the refs certainly seem to take aesthetics into account all the time. Take, for instance, how they regularly excuse travels on open court, fast break jams.

DKH -- Part of my problem with the "unnecessary [and excessive] contact" rule is that it's entirely subjective and isn't treated with any form of consistency...and the way a player reacts to the foul (body flying, arms flailing) often influences the call.

AK Dave -- Total Tiger Knee.

Wild Yams -- "The only shocking thing about the Ariza play was finding out that apparently Rudy Fernandez is more brittle than Grant Hill." TREATED.

Doc Zeus -- Honestly, I don't think we're blaming Rudy for getting hurt...it's more that we're taking to task the allegations that this was somehow an unusual or dirty play. That trying to make a block from behind on an airborne player should not be done. Rather, it's a play that happens all the time and, unfortunately, Rudy fell awkwardly and got hurt.

AK Dave -- I think the Suns have plenty of chemistry...on offense. But this losing streak has highlighted a defense that can't get critical stops. I mean, they've played close in every game.

La Dolce Vita -- What Would Dr. J Do?

VN -- "How can you even compare the Ariza foul to Lebron's?" Easy. They were both block attempts from behind on an airborne player. And the general consensus on the Ariza foul was that it was dangerous and reckless simply because he took the chance of fouling someone from behind, and that sort of action can cause injury. LeBron hit J-Rich from behind while Richardson was airborne...it's just that he didn't fall and go boom.

And I hope you all realize how much I love you guys with those photos. Eventually, there's always a stage of having to zoom in and erase/clean up edges, meaning I spent hours working on zoomed-in pictures of Trevor and Rudy's bodies. This includes their pixelated crotches. Just for you guys.

If you go for a dunk in the NBA (a league full of physical freaks) expect to get hit. And you might even get hurt, especially if you’re a 185 pound Spaniard and you don't think someone is going to run you down from behind and try to block your shot.

As for J-Rich, has he not seen ANY Lebron highlights this year?! Dude is making a living on blocking breakaways, what was he thinking?! Although if we look back on the past 2 months and his driving record, thinking doesn't seem to be much of a priority for Jason these days.

There isn't much else to say about this whole Rudy Is A Pansy thing, it looks like it's all been covered pretty extensively. I'll just say this though: Andrei, I'm not outraged over The Incident, I'm flabbergasted at your outrage (yours and the outrage of others). It was a run of the mill play that you see in virtually any NBA game. The fall was awkward, but the play was not out of the ordinary in any other way. The fact that the Blazer players felt they needed to say a prayer for their teammate doesn't change this fact, the fact that Henry Abbott posted about it for four straight days doesn't change this fact, the fact that a bunch of Laker haters or Blazer homers were outraged about it doesn't change this fact. That it wasn't dirty and that he was making a play on the ball is the reason Ariza wasn't suspended. Accept it and move on or keep whining and continue looking foolish. It's up to you.

When a player goes up for a two handed dunk and it is blocked from anywhere except from straight aheadIT IS A FOUL. You are guaranteed to get arm contact on a play like that. End of story. Anyone who disagrees with that must be a hypocrite or a liar because i know no fan wants the refs deciding games and will not admit to being in favor of superstar treatment(which lebron, wade, kobe and others clearly get).

"He made a spectacularly retarded play and should not be bailed out for it"

&

"When a player goes up for a two handed dunk and it is blocked from anywhere except from straight aheadIT IS A FOUL."

Wow! You guys are on a roll today with the lunacy.

James committed, and should have been called for, a foul, period. Richardson said he was trying to get the crowd pumped with a spectacular dunk. So what if "the right play" (whatever the fuck that means) was for him to lay the ball in off the square.

"I didn't like the form on that three-pointer at all! Who cares if he was fouled, that was damn ugly. No call!"

Exactly.

Or how about, "Even though he got raked across the arms he should have passed the ball, PLAY BALL!"

Regardless of whether or not, it should or should not have been called a foul, Richardson blew that game by attempting that idiotic dunk in the first place. Bottom line is, he doesn't attempt that 360, he either puts it in, puts it in and gets the fouled called, or gets the foul called. By attempting to show up the other team, he got shown up. Plain and simple.

Or as more articulately put by a Suns blog:

" Yes. It was a foul. No, it did not deserve to be called a foul. There is a rarely known portion of the NBA rule book (Chapter 4, section 17, para 7(r)) which states:

When the player in possession of the ball with a clear and unobstructed path to the basket chooses to make an ass of himself, his team and the sport of professional basketball by spinning, windmilling, through the legging or otherwise showing up the other team then any physical contact made by a defensive player who shall have shown a high degree of hustle and effort and heart to have not given up (sometimes referred to as bailed) on the play shall not be deemed a foul. Ever."

I know John Hollinger is a numberological genius and all, but can he PLEASE get a worst-of-the-[whatever] for his increasingly annoying God-complex? Any system that tells you Derrick Rose is only 1.35% better than Tyrus Thomas has to be a little flawed...right? Hollinger doesn't think so. Long live the PER!!! [/sarcasm]

As to the Wade-Lebron blocks, it's obvious they were granted superstar calls there, no real defense to it. At the same time, though, they took a chance and because of their athletic abilities were able to make a play on the ball without contacting the head of the player.

But I think any reasonable Blazer/NBA fan is okay with the outcome of the Ariza-Rudy situation. Ariza obviously wasn't trying to hurt him, but at the same time, caught his head with his elbow. If he gets up 6 inches higher, it's probably similar to Lebron's "foul", and this wouldn't be that much of an issue. At the same time, if his arm is 6 inches lower, then it's a straight clothesline, and we're looking at potential concussion, and I think it'd be an obvious suspension. It's still potentially dangerous. If he pulls it off, great, but if he catches his head, he has to accept that it's a guaranteed flagrant.

Also, to people who say it shouldn't have been a flagrant at all, almost this exact same thing happened to Lebron last year and even made it into the bawful definiton of thug (http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2008/05/word-of-day-thug.html check out DeShawn Stevenson's shot). Objectively, you have to say DeShawn gets about as much ball, and about as much head as Ariza did, and that was called a flagrant 1. Since the Lakers were getting blown out at the time, I feel upgrading that to an ejection Ariza was hardly the crime against hard-nosed basketball that some here are making it out to be.

Bcstein, nice find! If I had time I'd find a pic of Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday with the caption "My hypocrisy knows no bounds." LOL

That Stevenson swipe looks mighty similar to Ariza's swipe in that "he was going for the ball" hahaha... Although Stevenson's swipe probably was actually a bit dirty.

To Bawful's credit, he did say he loved the thuggery. But he still calls him a thug for the play... I think Ariza's swipe is more similar to this than LeBron's swipe on that 360 attempt. At any rate; Bawful, Yams, et al; STOP ANTAGONIZING THESE PEOPLE WITH YOUR SARCASM AND CHILDISHNESS (AND THEN ACTING LIKE OTHERS ARE THE ONES THAT WONT DROP IT)!!! As the venerable Rob Burgandy put it "Agree to disagree"...

No one was saying this was a hideous play, they're saying the ariza play was not much worse, yet a whole lot of hublahblah was made out of it, yet many other similar plays get nothing.

Like yams said previously somewhere, so many calls are about how the player fell, not about the actual contact.What would people say if Grant Hill had a career ending injury (very likely, given the career) on that d-wade play? Same play, different fall, different reaction.

When a defender gets plenty of ball, a foul is rarely called whether or not there's additional contact. This rule applies to pick-up ball, too. If you get your shot thrown to mid-court and call a foul based on some body contact, every baller on that court will think you're a bi*tch. Ariza's play wasn't dirty but he did swing at the ball in frustration (and got no ball whatsoever, just arms and head). Lebron hit JRich's wrist AND bumped him with the body but he still swatted that ball. No call is the right call (even if it's not the technical one).

Arlen, I agree that this got overblown, but you see this all the time in the NFL.

How many times did QBs get hit below the knee in the pocket before 2006 or whenever and have no one talk about it? And yet, once Carson Palmer's knee gets torn up, it got probably more coverage than this.

Same with helmet to helmet hits. They happened for most of NFL history with no one thinking twice about it, but after a few concussions and broken jaws, the league outlawed it, because it had a much higher probability of causing injury than they thought allowable. I'm sure old school NFL guys would think players now are pansies to some extent now that they're outlawed, but it's a price to pay to protect players.

That's why I don't blame Henry too much for his over-coverage of it. Like I said, if Ariza or Stephenson's arms had been 6 inches lower, regardless of intent, we could theoretically have seen the worst non-Kermit foul in NBA history. I think all Henry is pointing out is that it could be a good idea to address this proactively before a guy gets seriously hurt, a la Carson Palmer. Of course, 4 posts is overdoing it, and I personally think things are fine as is, but I can at least see where he's coming from.

Actually KneeJerkNBA, it was Lebron who missed the ball and caught JRich on both wrists, and it was Ariza's hand that hit the ball dead center while his forearm caught Rudy's head. The problems with the Ariza/Rudy play were that (a) Trevor's full swing caught Rudy's left wrist after the shot was blocked and pinwheeled him in the air, and (b) Rudy tried a two-handed dunk at full speed off one foot when he knew contact was coming. Who the hell tries that play and expects to land normally? The rest of the NBA either does a two-handed dunk off both feet, or a one-handed dunk off one foot. A one-handed dunk would have resulted in a block and likely foul, but Rudy would have kept his balance because the left hand wouldn't have been in position to get smacked.

yeah fernandez went to the hospital and got carried off the court on a stretcher with a neck brace...but all the damage done from the "dirty" play was nothing more than a couple of bruises. all the attention the foul received was completely excessive and unnecessary. drop it.

and dont bring that "if his arms were 6 inches lower" bullshit. thats like saying "if ariza had knives for hands he wouldve killed rudy." hypothetical situations are completely worthless in your argument.

It looks to me like D-Wade's armpit really hit Grant Hill in the back of the head. It looks like Grant Hills head kind of bounces forward in such a way that would require force from behind. Not just that he was falling from body contact; but, that the back of his head was seriously accosted.

Secondly, I grew up under the impression that the hand is part of the ball.

Third, I have no point to make, those are just the thoughts that all this crap put in my head.

It's only part of the ball if the action is not a foul. Since J-Rich was in the act of shooting, and he was hit on the hand while shooting, it is a foul by rule; so the hand is part of the ball rule isn't in effect.

@DocZeus: Give it a rest. A foul's a foul, no matter how stupid the offensive shot. If Shaq wants to take a step-back 3pt shot - that's his choice. But just because he's doing something stupid doesn't allow you to tackle him.

I agree - hand is part of the ball. And regardless, foul or not, Jason Richardson is the idiot. I understand being a Suns fan right now is tough, but that play was a microcosm of the Suns season. A lot of flash, no substance, and another loss. Cut Nash, trade Amare, kill Shaq, start over. This seems like a bunch of suns fans crying over spilt milk to me.

I realize this is college hoops; and, that it'll prob'ly get lost in the sea of weekend comments and submissions; but, this is what James Harden (Pac-10 player of the year) said about getting his potential game winning lay-up blocked by USC's Taj Gibson in the Pac-10 championship game:

"They play a unique style of defense. They play man and they guard their man."

In this "story" about Villanueva, Yahoo "rumours" comes off as so naive. They don't seem to have heard about the contract year phenomenon:

Charlie Villanueva is finally living up to his potential as a first-round pick and he stands to cash in when it comes times to negotiate a new deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to the the Boston Globe.

Since his arrival in the league, the former UConn star has had a reputation of not playing hard and has been the subject of trade rumors since he entered the league."

This is the same kind of "objective" reporting as the stories that say: despite Iverson being injured, the Pistons are playing better.

Seriously, Basketbawful is to Basketball, like the Daily Show is to news. (I too am waiting for that book)

That's two fouls and three turnovers in three seconds. Special consideration to J.P. Prince for bonking a free throw that would have tied the game, as well as his turnover.

Even more consideration to the officials at the game. They managed to call a blocking foul on Tenn where there was no contact, miscall a travel as a foul on MSU, and call a 5 second violation in less than 4 seconds on an inbounds pass. Further, the clock failed to start on 3 consecutive plays.

This all in the final minute of the game, which was one of the most painful basketball minutes I've ever watched. All around fail.

Now for some NBA Worst-of nominations. I think everyone knew it would be defense-optional night with the Phoenix Suns playing at the Golden State Warriors.

Stephen Jackson and Don Nelson: They both managed to get ejected on the same possession, in which Barbosa also got a layup and drew a foul, leading to six quick points for the Suns (1 tech on Jackson, 2 on Nelson). This resulted in a 20 point lead, and suddenly everyone watching knew the game was out of reach. (Actually, it was probably out of reach before Nelson's techs, and he just didn't want to be there anymore.)

Golden State centers? GS management? Someone deserves the blame for this team's utter inability to deal with Shaq. Shaq was able to operate pretty much at will in the paint, amassing 26 points on 13 shots with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Louis Amundson also had 9 points on 7 shots, and also filled the stat sheet with 4 rebounds, an assist, three steals, and 2 blocks.

The broadcasters: I don't know who the broadcast team was for the game, but the game was also analysis-optional, as they were cheerleading for Monta Ellis, who finished with a game-worst -35.

DKH: This all in the final minute of the game, which was one of the most painful basketball minutes I've ever watched. All around fail.

I agree. That was downright painful to watch. The officiating was awful, the execution was awful, the play selection was awful, it was an absolutely horrendous display of basketball.

Also, I got home last night with about 1:30 to go in the 2nd quarter of the Suns/Warriors game. As soon as I turned it on, I actually said out loud to myself "Surprise surprise... defense is obviously optional tonight!"

Yes yes everyone, get your "defence optional" pot-shots in now, but that was a fun game to watch (until GS unravelled, obviously). GS knew they couldn't deal with Shaq so what other option did they have? Hell, it was PHX switching it up to zone D in the 3rd that helped them secure the win.

Sorry if you all feel like a high scoring game (historically, even) is bawful worthy. If you never once cheered for the Suns since 2004, or if you just hate fun, then I guess it's understandable.

Hey, I'm a Suns fan and I enjoyed watching the game. Also meant to include in the broadcasters' worst-of nomination the fact that they could not handle pronouncing "Amundson." Seriously? It's not that big of a challenge.